


That Simple

by wordcountenthusiast



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Awesome May Parker (Spider-Man), Coming Out, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark is a Good Dad, Trans Male Character, Trans Peter Parker, and peter cries a lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-06-18 19:14:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15492798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordcountenthusiast/pseuds/wordcountenthusiast
Summary: It was worse that week. Of course, it was usually bad, sometimes so bad that he could hardly breathe three times a day, and hated looking in a mirror so much that he almost covered all of them.But it was worse this week.





	That Simple

**Author's Note:**

> Here's something. Hopefully it's better than I think it is. If you like it, please leave kudos and a comment.
> 
> Just so everyone knows, there is some mention of self harm and dysphoria in this story. Fair warning.

It was worse that week. Of course, it was usually bad, sometimes so bad that he could hardly breathe three times a day, and hated looking in a mirror so much that he almost covered all of them. **  
**

 

But it was worse this week.

 

Peter knew this when he looked down, and saw the jagged, half-healed cuts on his wrist from scissors when he couldn’t sleep. He knew it when he remembered the cutting feeling of wrapping his chest in an ace bandage, just to feel a semblance of normality.

 

He wanted to tell Tony. Actually, more accurately, he needed to tell Tony. He didn’t like what he was doing to his body, and he knew he needed to stop. And part of that was telling the man he had looked up to his entire life that he wasn’t a girl, he was a boy, and that he needed a therapist really fucking bad.

 

A knock at Peter’s door distracted him from these lingering thoughts. He pulled it open and offered May a small smile.

 

“Sorry for bothering you, but I have something I think you’d like.” May walked over to his bed and sat down, gesturing for Peter to sit next to her. She was holding a box that had been delivered to the apartment earlier.

 

“Hey Peter.” He was out to May. “I’ve kind of noticed that you’ve been struggling lately. And I want to help you. I want you to be able to talk to me. So I got you this.”

 

She opened the box and pulled out a binder. It was still wrapped in plastic, though from what he could tell, it was a black half-binder, and it looked amazing. Peter felt his eyes tear up a little, and he wrapped his arms around May, burying his head in her shoulder.

 

“Thank you. Thank you so much.” May smiled at him, and he slowly unwrapped his arms from around her.

 

“Peter, just so you know, you will always have me. I love you so much, no matter what. Now I’ll leave, so you can try this on, let me know if you need a different size.”

 

As May closed the door, Peter could no longer hold back his tears. They streamed from his eyes and down his face, softly dripping on the plastic wrapping in his hands. He was a failure. She was an amazing, brilliant woman, and he was just… a failure. It was bad enough that she had to care for him herself, basically against her will, but he was such a screwed up person, he was such a burden on her. He wasn’t worth the time or effort she put in, that Mr. Stark put in. He wasn’t worth anything. Peter threw his binder on the bed and quickly undressed, changing into his costume. As soon as he had pulled it over his body he jumped out the window, falling into the familiar and comforting rhythm of being a superhero. Shoot and swing. Shoot and swing.

 

It would be so much easier if everything were that simple.

 

* * *

 

 

Peter walked into the compound to his normal, dysphoria-inducing greeting.

 

“There you are Petra, I have something cool to show you.” Mr. Stark gestured for Peter to follow him, completely oblivious to the almost visual discomfort he showed at his idol using his deadname.

 

“I found something I completely forgot about. Did you know that Howard used to carry notebooks? Well, he did. And there’s some cool stuff in there, something related to nanotech. I bet I can make something out of it. Here. Take a look, tell me what you think.” He paused in his monologue for a moment to hand Peter a battered journal, filled with water stained and ragged pages carrying more knowledge than many people had in their heads.

 

They entered the lab and Tony immediately moved to his work table, fiddling with a half-finished project. Peter sat on a chair in the corner, half heartedly flipping through the journal. His exchange with May and subsequent thoughts, as well as what he knew he had to tell Tony dragged at his mind, occupying too many of his thoughts to allow for real focus.

 

He vaguely heard Mr. Stark begin to talk again, but he wasn’t really listening.

 

“Kid. Hey, kid.” Peter’s attention snapped back to the world when Tony stood in front of him, a hand on his shoulder. “Is something wrong?”

 

Peter swallowed, feeling a giant lump in his throat. He wanted to shout that of course there was something wrong, his body and mind was wrong, and Tony was only making it worse, but instead he made a noise that sounding like a dying rodent or something. He felt tears prickle at his eyes for the second or third time that day, and it took all his willpower not to burst into massive, sobbing tears.

 

Tony furrowed his brow.

 

“Hey kid, come over here. Let’s talk.” He practically lifted him off the chair, and led him to the common area. He sat on one of the sofas, and invited Peter to do the same.

 

“You can talk to me, kid. You know that. Please, tell me what’s wrong so I can help.” Tony’s brown eyes were slightly glazed, almost like he wanted to cry as well. However, his words only ripped the hole in Peter’s heart open more, and now he really was crying. Large, shuddering sobbed tore through his body, and he could barely breathe. This is what he was holding in.

 

Peter wasn’t sure when he stopped crying.

 

He felt empty.

 

He vaguely remembered Mr. Stark putting a blanket over him at some point.

 

“Ready to talk now, kid?” Tony gently inquired.

 

Peter nodded and let out on final sniffle before opening his mouth to speak. His voice cracked a little.

 

“Mr. Stark. I’m so sorry.” Another tear slipped from his eye, and Peter thought he was going to burst into tears all over again. “I’m sorry I screw everything up.”

 

“No, you don’t mess anything up. W-Why do you say that you do?”

 

“M-mm-Mr. Stark.. I-I’m t-transgender.” This time, Peter did start crying. Tony gently wrapped his arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug.

 

“God, I’m sorry kid. I didn’t know. I’m sorry. So.. is there another name you want me to call you by? Or pronouns? Does May know?”

 

“It-it’s okay, Mr. Stark. You couldn’t have known. And yeah, I go by Peter. And I use he and him pronouns. May does know, and she’s fully supportive.”

 

“You know I am too, right?”

 

“Yeah. Oh. And. I think I need a therapist.” Peter hated asking him for things, but it was for his health, and May probably couldn’t afford one anyway.

 

“That can be arranged. I’ve actually had my suspicions that something was wrong for a while, so I did a bunch of research about gender stuff. Do you have a binder yet? Because I can get you one. Or make you one. Or put one in your suit. I can really do anything. What do you need from me, Pete? Is it okay if I call you that?”

 

Peter stared up at his idol. This was a better reception than he could have hoped.

 

“Umm. Thanks, I guess. I have a binder. I’d like you to put one in my suit, but I’m worried it may not be safe. And yeah, Pete is fine.”

 

Tony nodded. He really wanted best for the kid,  _his kid_ , and whatever that meant, he was happy to provide.


End file.
